Tokyo 2020 rugby sevens fixtures and results: How long do matches last and who are Team GB women playing in Tokyo?
RUGBY sevens is set for its second outing after Team GB’s men won a silver medal at Rio 2016.
The short version of rugby union, sevens is a fast paced, end-to-end, action packed and thoroughly entertaining variant of rugby.
Sevens is played on the standard rugby sized pitch, but with seven players from each side rather than the usual 15 players in a full union match.
The event was one of Rio 2016’s most popular games, and has grown in popularity to the extent that it has now been granted full Olympic status.
On the 27th July 2020, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic rugby sevens will kick off, with 3 days of men’s competition followed by 3 days of the women’s event.
What is rugby sevens and how long to the matches last?
A regular sevens match usually consists of two halves of seven minutes with a one-minute half time break.
The shortness of games enables plenty of matches to be played during the course of a single day, hence its popularity.
Teams consist of three forwards and four backs (including one scrum-half), meaning that there is plenty of opportunity for the ball runners and play makers to really to show off their talent.
And as you can imagine, on a full sized pitch and as a full contact sport there will be lots of space to fill as players will have their work cut out to try and cover ground whilst putting in those tackles.
A good sevens player are often backs or loose forwards from a 15s rugby match as they need to be extremely agile to keep up with the end-to-end attacking nature of the game.
The scoring system remains the same as the standard 15-a-side game, with five points for a try, three for both penalties and drop goals and two for a conversion.
What does the Team GB squad look like?
The men’s took silver at Rio 2016 whilst the women’s finished fourth place last time out- although this time out, both teams will have more artillery.
Abbie Brown and Megan Jones will co-captain the women’s squad, which also features a number of players who have experience playing on the World Rugby Sevens Series and have played international rugby for a number of years.
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2014 World Cup winner Natasha Hunt is set for her second Games along with Brown and Jasmine Joyce.
Meanwhile, Tom Mitchell will lead the men’s squad which includes four players who competed in Rio, including all-time World Rugby Sevens Series leading try scorer Dan Norton.
Team GB women’s squad
Holly Aitchison
Abbie Brown
Abi Burton
Deborah Fleming
Natasha Hunt
Megan Jones
Jasmine Joyce
Alex Matthews
Celia Quansah
Helena Rowland
Hannah Smith
Emma Uren
Women’s reserve: Lisa Thomson
Team GB men’s squad
Dan Bibby
Alec Coombes
Alex Davis
Robbie Fergusson
Harry Glover
Ben Harris
Ollie Lindsay-Hague
Ross McCann
Max McFarland
Tom Mitchell
Dan Norton
Ethan Waddleton
Men’s reserve: Tom Bowen
How did the teams qualify for the Olympic rugby sevens?
In total, 12 teams compete at the Olympics in both women’s and men’s categories.
In the men’s competition, Fiji, USA, New Zealand and South Africa qualified via the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and Japan as hosts.
In addition, Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Great Britain, Kenya and Korea also booked their places via regional qualifiers.
In the women’s, New Zealand, USA, Canada and Australia qualified through the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and Japan as hosts.
In addition, regional qualifier winners are Brazil, Russia, France, China, Fiji, Great Britain and Kenya also qualified.
The Olympic Sevens will be played at the Tokyo Stadium, which hosted 8 matches during the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Tokyo Olympics rugby sevens pools
Men
- Pool A: New Zealand, South Korea, Australia, Argentina
- Pool B: Fiji, Japan, Great Britain, Canada
- Pool C: South Africa, Ireland, USA, Kenya
Women
- Pool A: Great Britain, Kenya, New Zealand, ROC
- Pool B: France, Fiji, Canada, Brazil
- Pool C: Australia, Japan, USA, China
Olympic rugby sevens fixtures
Here’s the official schedule:
*All times in Japan Standard Time (JST)
Monday July 26 – Men
Venue: Tokyo Stadium
Time: 1am to 4pm UK (9am to 12 Noon Japan)
- B: Fiji 24-19 Japan
- B: Great Britain 24-0 Canada
- A: New Zealand 50-5 South Korea
- A: Australia 19-29 Argentina
- C: South Africa 33-14 Ireland
- C: USA 19-14 Kenya
Time: 8.30am to 11.30am UK (4.30pm to 7.30pm Japan)
- B: Great Britain 34-0 Japan
- B: Fiji 28-14 Canada
- A: New Zealand 35-14 Argentina
- A: Australia 42-5 South Korea
- C: USA 19-17 Ireland
- C: South Africa 14-5 Kenya
Tuesday July 27 – Men
Time: 1am to 4pm UK (9am to 12 Noon Japan)
- B: Canada 36-12 Japan
- B: Fiji 33-7 Great Britain
- A: Argentina 56-0 South Korea
- A: New Zealand 14-12 Australia
- C: Kenya 7-12 Ireland
- C: South Africa 17-12 USA
Time: 8.30am to 11.30am UK (4.30pm to 7.30pm Japan)Men’s Placing 9-12 (2 matches)
Men’s Placing 9-12
- Ireland 31-0 South Korea
- Kenya 21-7 Japan
Men’s Quarter-finals
- New Zealand 21-10 Canada
- Great Britain 26-21 USA
- South Africa 14-19 Argentina
- Fiji 19-0 Australia
Wednesday July 28 – Men
Time: 1am to 4pm UK (9am to 12 Noon Japan) Men’s Placing 11-12
Men’s Placing 11-12
- South Korea 19-31 Japan
Men’s Placing 9-10
- Ireland 0-22 Kenya
Men’s Placing 5-8
- Canada 14-21 USA
- South Africa 22-19 Australia
Men’s Placing 7-8
- Canada 7-26 Australia
Men’s Placing 5-6
- United States 7-28 South Africa
Men’s Semi-finals
- New Zealand 29-7 Great Britain
- Argentina 14-26 Fiji
Men’s Bronze medal match
- Great Britain 12-17 Argentina
Men’s Gold Medal Match
- New Zealand 12-27 Fiji
Thursday July 29 – Women
Time: 1am to 4pm UK (9am to 12 Noon Japan)
- B: France 12-5 Fiji
- B: Canada 33-0 Brazil
- C: USA 28-14 China
- C: Australia 48-0 Japan
- A: ROC 12-14 Great Britain
- A: New Zealand 29-7 Kenya
Time: 8.30am to 11.30am UK (4.30pm to 7.30pm Japan)
- B: Canada 12-26 Fiji
- B: France 40-5 Brazil
- C: Australia 26-10 China
- C: USA 17-7 Japan
- A: New Zealand 26-21 Great Britain
- A: ROC 35-12 Kenya
Friday July 30 – Women
Time: 1am to 4pm UK (9am to 12 Noon Japan)
- B: Fiji vs Brazil (1am)
- B: Canada vs France (1.30am)
- C: China vs Japan (2am)
- C: Australia vs USA (2.30am)
- A: Great Britain vs Kenya (3am)
- A: New Zealand vs ROC (3.30am)
Time: 8.30am to 11.30am UK (4.30pm to 7.30pm Japan)
- Women’s Placing 9-12 (2 matches)
- Women’s Quarter-finals (4 matches)
Saturday July 31 – Women
Time: 1am to 4pm UK (9am to 12 Noon Japan)
- Women’s Placing 11-12
- Women’s Placing 9-10
- Women’s Placing 5-8 (2 matches)
- Women’s Semi-finals (2 matches)
Time: 8.30am to 11am UK (4.30pm to 7pm Japan)
- Women’s Placing 7-8
- Women’s Placing 5-6
- Women’s Bronze Medal Match
- Women’s Gold Medal Match